One month until I’m off…

I leave London to fly to Brazil on 17th January 2014, which is one month from today!

It’s quite hard to imagine right now since there’s so much stuff going on at the moment with my ongoing preparations and volunteering, the run up to xmas, friends getting married and having babies and me thinking about what the heck I’m going to do with my life when I get back from Brazil, Watford FC nine games without a win and Zola resigning (can I still raffle the shirt he signed?), England capitulating in the Ashes, and some clumsy bloke stepping on my knee when playing footy on Sunday (it’s swollen and sore but seems ok) after bizarrelyI scored goals with both my first two touches of the game! And other stuff too.

But that’s life, right? It’s unpredictable, regardless of how much you try to manage it for the best. And there’s no doubt I’ll encounter numerous surprises in Brazil, both good and bad. So bring it on, since let’s be honest, as much as people keep telling me I’m ‘brave’ for doing this trip into the relatively unknown, I say it’s pretty normal since I generally don’t have much of a clue what I’m really doing in everyday life, so why not try to experience a unique and challenging adventure along the way, given the opportunity to do so – and hope that it gives you unforgettable experiences and teaches you valuable lessons to help you make the best of your life in the future.

And whilst ‘normal life’ to many people involves getting married, having kids and working hard to look after your family, I think doing all of that is far ‘braver’ than anything that I’m doing. I’m under no illusions that I’m basically running away from reality for a while. Hey, if being a parent isn’t a challenging adventure then I don’t know what is! That stuff’s not been for me so far in my life, but maybe one day I’ll achieve something of that magnitude, or maybe not, but from 17th January for the next 5 months my raison d’etre is day after day of cycling and surprises and hoping people take notice and decide my efforts are worthy of support and some charity donations. And if/when they do then it all will have been worthwhile. I’m the only person who’s ever going to make this journey, so I’ll try to eke out and share all the positives I can, and therefore hopefully inspire other people in some way as a result. As for my return to ‘normal life’ after that, who knows.

Ramble over.

PS. Check out these other charity efforts that have inspired me recently: